(red), and Newman (yellow) houses are now prominent within the school, especially on uniform, which now entails a coloured badge representing the pupil's house. The Sixth Form has been given a more visible role, giving presentations and talks during assemblies and during a Thursday morning tutor period. Prefects, Senior Prefects, Vice House Captains, House Captains, the Deputy Head Boys, and Head Boys, all have new ties, as well as badges which relate to their house. St Ambrose College has strong relationships with the history and ethos of Saint Ambrose, for instance the insignia on the old sixth form ties were bee hives as, legend has it a swarm of bees settled on St Ambrose's face whilst he lay in his cradle, leaving behind a drop of honey. His father considered this a sign of his future eloquence and honeyed-tongue. For this reason, bees and beehives often appear in the saint's symbology. In April 2004, after the school's second bid for specialist status in six months failed, the headmaster Michael Thompson accused the Department of Education of bias. He claimed that when he asked officials why the bid was unsuccessful, he was told that it was "too Catholic". Member of Parliament for Altrincham and Sale West, Graham Brady called for an inquiry to be held. In 2005, St Ambrose College gained specialist status in mathematics and computing, allowing it to give precedence to the named subjects and bringing a capital grant of £150,000 as well as an annual allowance of £120,000. The money has been spent on computers, projectors and generally modernising the classrooms. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) carried out an inspection in November 2005. The report noted that the school's buildings were "old and cramped and at times this makes learning difficult". St Ambrose College, which was considered the school in Trafford "most in need of a new building", was awarded £17 million in July 2006 to completely rebuild. Construction company Balfour Beatty was awarded the contract in January 2010 after a bidding process. There was originally a miniature Celtic cross buried in the foundations of the school. In September 2012 the school was opened, and had an official opening ceremony and Mass on 8 October 2012. The design of the school is a Celtic cross. It has a six-lane swimming pool, after the old one was decommissioned in 2005. It has a